Bridging the Gap: UCI and South Coast Repertory’s Collaborative Theatre Program

A new partnership between the University of California, Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts and South Coast Repertory (SCR) is offering Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students invaluable professional experience, integrating them directly into the production process of professional theatrical productions.

The Next Stage Initiative

The pilot program, launched this year, involved two SCR shows in repertory: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and God of Carnage, running through March 21. The initiative provides opportunities for MFA students in stage management, dramaturgy, and sound design, as well as student understudies, to work alongside seasoned professionals. SCR staff as well contribute by teaching undergraduate courses at UCI.

“We wanted to formalize this framework so that we could create a professional on-ramp experience for students, to bring them out of learning within the classroom and into a professional theatre space,” says Joel Veenstra, chair of the theatre department at UCI. “It’s kind of like an intense residency program as well as an apprenticeship—a two-way street, where we’re going into the theatre, but then they have members of their community as well coming to UCI to teach, engage, and enhance the experience of our community to elevate this cross-collaborative bridge.”

A Model Rooted in Professional Experience

For SCR artistic director David Ivers, the partnership mirrors the training he received as an MFA student at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Guthrie Theater, and similar models experienced at Utah Shakespeare Festival and Denver Center Theatre Company. “My career as an actor and a director was never separated from the benefits of having brilliant young minds around,” Ivers stated.

Ivers emphasized the long-term benefits for SCR, stating, “The real benefit for SCR is that we’re making a commitment to the future of the field. SCR benefits by having direct contact with what’s coming right out of the institution. We also benefit by expanding our workforce…Why wouldn’t we choose to work with students who are just about to be in the profession to both help shape and learn from to figure out what the next iteration of the American theatre is going to be?”

Student Perspectives

Esther Pielstick, an MFA student understudying the role of Honey, shared her experience, noting the impact of learning from experienced professionals. “Learning from people who have been doing this for a long time and who are working professionally makes me so hungry to want to do this and to be a part of that process…It’s a really powerful feeling, and sometimes you can get discouraged in the arts, but this feeling of ‘Okay, no, I can do this, and I want to do this—people are doing this, it’s possible.’”

Future Plans and the Importance of Pipeline Programs

SCR plans to include five student performers in next season’s repertoire, with current students providing feedback to inform future iterations, including a formalized mentorship program. Pielstick expressed excitement about the long-term commitment to the partnership, stating, “It’s really exciting that everyone’s wanting to produce this a long-term relationship that’s going to be best for the students as we continue in the future.”

The success of this collaboration underscores the importance of sustaining the American theatre pipeline, particularly as education programs face challenges. A recent report highlights the risks to education and training programs due to transitions and closures, such as those at the Kennedy Center. Partnerships like The Next Stage are vital to ensuring a future for the arts.